Open to students and faculty. For more information, contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.
This event is cosponsored by the University of Notre Dame Press and made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.
Thomas Aquinas, like a good Aristotelian, holds that the moral virtues can be cultivated in human beings by habitual moral action. And like a good Christian, he also holds that God can gift (or ‘infuse’) the moral virtues into a human being. Can humans become good on their own? Or do they require external assistance? This symposium will consider the question of infused moral virtue: how does Aquinas describe the bestowal of moral virtues on an individual by God? How is his description related to the classical account of virtues acquired by virtuous action? How does modern science make sense of these insights? Essentially, the question is the following: What would pagan philosophers and modern psychologists (or ‘scientists-of-mind’) make of what Thomas Aquinas says about the work of grace in the moral life?
In this symposium, Angela Knobel (Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Dallas) will present a Thomistic perspective of the interplay between grace and virtuous action in the moral life. Then, Candace Vogler will respond on the inadequacies of Aristotle. Daniel Lapsley (Professor of Psychology, University of Notre Dame) will offer an opinion on what modern psychology might say to Aristotle and Aquinas. Emily Austin (Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Chicago) will moderate as the conversation develops.
On Saturday, Prof. Knobel will lead a Master Class titled Aquinas on Virtue and Grace in the Moral Life.